The Best eCommerce Platform for Auto Parts

If you're in fixed ops for an automotive dealership you may be selling auto parts online or you may be considering it, so we put together a comprehensive list of nearly three dozen auto parts eCommerce website builders.

Obviously, vehicle fitment is a major consideration when selling auto parts online and any website platform or website builder needs to be able to work with fitment.

Auto Parts eCommerce Platform Options

Some automotive eCommerce website builders have proprietary platforms, like PartSites or RevolutionParts, for example. Some use open source platforms to build sites, such as Magento or WordPress. We explain the differences in open source vs. proprietary platforms or software as a service (Saas) web platforms to sell parts.

Open source platforms can be marketed as "free," but that's not really the case as any new eCommerce website needs development work by an auto parts eCommerce website builder. Some open source websites can cost tens of thousands of dollars when fully built out.

Our list of website builders includes companies that work with WordPress (and WooCommerce, the WordPress shopping cart plugin), Shopify, Drupal, BigCommerce, Volusion, Joomla, Magento, and ASPDotNetStoreFront. It also covers platforms marketed as SaaS, like Miva or Net Driven.

Best eCommerce Platforms for Auto Parts and The Importance of Fitment

When considering platforms and website builders, fitment data can come from multiple sources.

For OEM parts, website builders tend to specialize in specific brands. For example, RevolutionParts markets their services for websites selling parts for GM, Ford, Honda and other brands.

For websites selling aftermarket products, fitment data can come from many different sources including DCi, the SEMA Data Coop or Paramount Data Management. These sources usually depend on ACES data for fitment.

ACES is a data standard unique to the automotive aftermarket that covers the obvious year/make/model but also things like transmission type, pickup bed length, drivetrain including FWD, RWD or 4WD, and so on.

Selecting an Automotive eCommerce Platform for Your Dealership

When considering a website builder or platform, first start with your product line. Will you only sell OEM parts, or are you interested in also selling aftermarket brand parts?

Talk to website builders and find out how they host websites and how they handle credit card processing. Do they charge more for custom development or do they offer a "cookie cutter" website for their clients?

And dig into the product data including fitment as well as product descriptions, photos/images, responsive design, and other elements that play a role in converting browsers to shoppers.

It's important to know how products will be selected and added or dropped from the website. For example, if you're selling OEM parts, maybe you just want every SKU for a brand. Or perhaps you don't want to get involved with complex shipping issues and want to exclude SKUs that require truck freight.

Or perhaps you want to sell OEM parts along with some aftermarket parts. If so, how can you select products and add them to your website?

Also find out how a developer's website shopping cart would help identify and prevent fraud.

Our List is Evolving, Help Us Keep It Current

Check back often if you're looking for an auto parts eCommerce website builder. We've tried to build a neutral list and we're continually adding developers to the list or updating details.

Also if you look through our list and find an error please let us know! We want to maintain an accurate list.

Read through our comprehensive list of automotive website builders here.